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Usually when
summer comes along, people expect to slow down. Well, that's
not true for us here at RBCS. We typically have busy summers,
and this summer is no exception.
First, as
you'll know from previous newsletters, I was involved in the creation
of the ISTQB Foundation Extension Agile Tester syllabus. In
mid-June, just in time for summer, the syllabus was released.
So now, the
spotlight is on training providers to provide support for this
syllabus. We are ready. Before the syllabus was released,
we had already run various versions of our ISTQB Agile Tester
Foundation course three times. (These courses were based on the
beta release of the syllabus that came out in early 2014.) As
you'll see below, we have a live course, a virtual course, and--very
soon--e-learning support. We will also have an exam prep guide
available. No matter how you want to prepare, we'll be ready to
help.
If you are a
test manager, you probably know that you need to build relationships
with your stakeholders. If you have some questions about that
topic, I've got a free article below that can give you some
ideas.
Speaking of
free, our monthly free webinar series continues throughout the summer
and all year long. If you miss a webinar, you can always see
the recorded version (also free) on our Digital Library.
Want more
free stuff? Hey, why not. You can find a listing of some
more free resources below.
I hope you
enjoy the summer, and the summer newsletter!
Regards,
Rex Black,
President
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The
Agile Syllabus Has Been Released!
On June 20, 2014, the
American Software Testing Qualifications Board (ASTQB) made an
announcement on Facebook that the anticipated Agile Syllabus has
been released.
The ISTQB Foundation Level Extension Agile Tester
Syllabus, along with the complete line up of ISTQB syllabi can be
seen by visiting the ASTQB website. Also, be sure to follow the
ASTQB on Facebook and sign up for their
informative newsletter to be sure not to miss
any breaking news!
The RBCS ISTQB Foundation Level Extension Agile Tester
course has been submitted for accreditation. In the meantime,
it is currently available is three formats designed to suit preferred
learning methods and budgets.
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Virtual Course Delivery (3 day, 3 1/2 hour per day)
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earn 10.5 PDUs
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Public Course (2 day)
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earn 10.5 PDUs
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E-learning
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$750
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$1,500
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in production
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September 2-4, 2014,
12 noon to 3:30 pm CDT
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August 4-5,
2014
San Antonio,
Texas
September 8-9, 2014
Toronto,
Canada
September
10-11, 2014
McLean,
Virginia
October 15-16, 2014
San
Diego, California
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Ode to an
Office Dog
On April 19,
2014, the RBCS team bid farewell to our trusty office dog,
Cosmo. Cosmo was as much a part of our daily office life as any
other team member. He endured meetings, long hours of course
development, employee interviews and much more. If you are a
regular Webinar attendee and you listened closely enough, you may
have caught the sounds of a thumping tail in the background or, once
or twice, the dreaded unexpected bark. For 14 years he
was an honorary RBCS executive. Thank you for your
service, friend.
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Test
Management: Creating and Building Relationships
written by Rex Black
When I do assessments for clients, I talk to a lot of
people, both inside and outside the testing group. In the opening
moments of each interview, I try to engage in a friendly exchange,
where I break the ice between the interviewee and myself. Not only is
it more pleasant to have a friendly conversation than a tense one,
but people are more open and honest with someone with whom they have
some kind of positive relationship, compared to a complete stranger-or
someone they see as hostile, cold, or inscrutable. Most of the time,
I succeed, and I get to spend an interesting hour or so with someone
who gives me the benefit of their insights and opinions.
The same is true, on a much larger and longer scale, for test
managers. Testing is a matter of providing useful services to
stakeholders. If those stakeholders have a good relationship with you
and the other test managers in your test group, information will flow
more smoothly in both directions. The job of the test group will
become easier because it has better access to information it needs.
The test group will also become more valuable because the information
the group produces will flow more smoothly to the recipients of that
information. It's just human nature: We listen to and value the
communications we receive from people we are comfortable with, and we
are happy to reciprocate that flow of information.
It's not that you must be a personal friend to every stakeholder with
whom you work, but a good professional relationship with those
stakeholders is a major factor in the success of a test manager. How
well you and the other managers in the test group initiate,
cultivate, and sustain these relationships will strongly influence
the flow of information, as well as the support, you obtain from your
colleagues.
A relationship is necessarily a two-way affair. You and the test
group can't be the only beneficiaries from a relationship, at least
not a good one. Once, a person with whom I worked on a project
described the CEO of one vendor as follows: "Every time I meet
with that guy, I want to take a shower afterward," meaning that
he felt soiled just by being in the same room. Later in the project,
when my colleague legitimately but accidentally came into possession
of a memo that was certainly not in the vendor's interests to
disclose to its client, my colleague felt no compunction about
copying the document before returning it in a way that did not
disclose that he had seen it. The relationship had become two-way,
but not in a good way.
As a contrast, I had an excellent relationship with this same
vendor's test manager. Across a significant cultural difference-the
same difference my colleague and the CEO had not bridged-he and I
forged a relationship of honesty and trust. I felt I could tell him
the truth about what was happening on my side of the project, and he
felt the same. We shared information to advance our mutual goals of a
successful project and high-quality deliverable while at the same
time respecting the limits on communication imposed by our different
positions in terms of who our employers were. Even when the
relationship between the two companies became testy, he and I were
always able to communicate as friends with a good relationship of mutual
respect.
I note that this anecdote does not represent an isolated incident but
rather a truth that has become plain to me throughout my career in
testing. The successful test manager, perhaps more than any other
managers in the software business, must cultivate strong
relationships with stakeholders, continuously reinforce those
relationships with mutual benefits, and maintain the relationships
through good times and bad. In the next few subsections, let's look
more closely at how.
Visit our articles page to read this
article in its entirety.
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Complimentary Resources
RBCS takes
pride in our commitment to being a not-just-for-profit company.
We are completely committed to providing our clients and the software
testing community with an impressive line up of complimentary
resources. In addition to our popular monthly complimentary
webinar series, our website overflows with resources for
testers of every experience level.
Visit our basic library and our advanced library for articles,
syllabi, slides, templates and more.
Visit our digital library to see hours of
software testing webinars and videos.
Our articles page features articles that
have been highlighted in past newsletters or, simply, do not fit into
the basic or advanced library.
Stay current
on topics in software testing by visiting the RBCS podcast page and also subscribe to the podcast.
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Complimentary
Webinars
Did
you miss the complimentary webinar, "Interviewing Testers"
on May 30, 2014? Check out what you missed!
Webinar
attendees are automatically entered into a drawing to win their
choice of one of our green e-learning courses. Visit our training page to see the complete
webinar schedule, or just look on this email, sign up for a webinar,
show up at whichever webinar session is most convenient, and--who
knows--you might be the lucky winner of some valuable free
training. Either way, you're sure to learn something.
Congratulations Raquel
Maldonado, an attendee of the May webinar, for being
selected as the winner of an e-learning course.
Register now for our
next complimentary webinar, "Testing Best and Worst
Practices: Part 2", July 14, 2014.
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Green Tip
Look
for plants that are naturally pest-resistant. Encourage helpful
insects that prey on pests by growing nectar or pollen flowers and
choosing perennial ground coverings. Also, try keeping your grass at
a higher length. Higher grass mowed by sharp blades will prevent
weeds from taking root.
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Complimentary Webinars
Earn
1.5 PDUs for select webinars. Attendance of the live webinar
is required to earn PDUs.
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ISTQB Certified Tester Virtual Boot Camps
(based on materials accredited to the 2012
syllabus)
September 8-9, 2014
12 noon to 3:30 pm CDT
December 1-2, 2014
12 noon to 3:30 pm CST
ISTQB Advanced Level
Test Analyst Boot Camp
(updated for 2012 syllabus)
US$ 599
August 28-29, 2014
12 noon to 3:30 pm CDT
November 13-14, 2014
12 noon to 3:30 pm CST
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Non-Certification Virtual
Workshops
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Certification Public Courses
Test Engineering
Foundation Level
Earn 22.5 PDUs for this course
US$ 2,000
July 14-17, 2014
Boston, Massachusetts
August 4-7, 2014
Seattle, Washington
August 25-28, 2014
Toronto, Canada
September 2-5, 2014
Austin, Texas
September 15-18, 2014 Atlanta, Georgia
November 11-14, 2014
McLean, Virginia
December 1-4, 2014
Denver, Colorado
Foundation Level
Extension Agile Tester
(submitted for accreditation)
August 4-5, 2014
San Antonio, Texas
September 8-9, 2014
Toronto, Canada
September 10-11, 2014
McLean, Virginia
October 15-16, 2014
San Diego, California
Advanced Test Manager
(accredited to 2012 syllabus by ASTQB December 2012)
Earn
32.5 PDUs for this course
US$ 2,650
August 18-22, 2014
San Antonio, Texas
September 29 - October 3, 2014
Boston, Massachusetts
November 17-21, 2014
Seattle, Washington
December 8-12, 2014 Atlanta, Georgia
(accredited
to 2012 syllabus by ASTQB December 2012)
August 11-14, 2014
Newark, New Jersey
September 22-25, 2014
San Francisco, California
October 6-9, 2014
Toronto, Canada
October 27-30, 2014
Boston, Massachusetts
November 3-6, 2014 Charlotte, North Carolina
Advanced Technical Test
Analyst
(accredited to 2012 syllabus by ASTQB January
2013)
US$ 2,250
July 28-30, 2014
San Francisco, California
October 14-16, 2014
Austin, Texas
(an IREB, IIBA and IBAQB exam preparation course)
Earn 18 CDUs for this course
US$ 2,500
Contact RBCS
to schedule
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